Author: Maica Amar

Streetwear Tribes: From Hypebeasts To Fun Dads

Streetwear is a fashion style of non-formal clothing items that came into existence globally in the 1990s. It started its steps from New York hip hop style and California’s surf culture to confine the components of sportswear to punk style and skateboarding to Japanese street style fashion.

Finally, classy couture has become a style to influence. It is commonly surrounded by the casual, comfortable style of jeans, T-shirts, caps, and sneakers. Followers of such particular styles and brands try to gather the releases that come with a limited-edition tag.

Let’s go a little further to understand streetwear fashion.

Original Streetwear Brands

Usually, we can categorize the Original streetwear brands on affordability, comfortability, and authenticity. From their basics, these brands raise their bar by a very direct motive to keep a word on a T-shirt.

Items from these brands usually sell at a higher price due to the availability of the limited pieces against higher demand.

Sportswear Brands

It consists of popular athletic labels that offer athletic pieces and sneakers, key components of sporty streetwear style.

Adopted Streetwear Brands

It may have included the streetwear styles into their goods offering, but their brand motto is not authentically sticking to the streetwear purpose.

Luxury Streetwear Brands

They offer the latest emerging trends of the brand that can’t differentiate between original streetwear & luxury style. These brands have also raised their bar on the name of authenticity but run on a higher price point.

To learn more about these streetwear brands, let’s dig about the approach, style, inspiration, subject-matter, and the style streetwear enthusiasts usually carry.

The Famous Hype Beasts Style

“A person who adopts a certain trend to look cool or being looking like cool hunk or A person who wears the most hyped fashion clothes.” A Hype Beast is a person who tries to gather clothing, shoes, and accessories to impress others.

Although that particular kid doesn’t own anything, he still shows that he makes far more than anybody else. By having the daddy’s credit card, the Hype Beast kid will try his best to make sure to own a pair of his most favorite brands of sneakers, clothes, or any accessories.

There may be some conflicting views about the word “hype beast.” Many people believe that a hype beast is mainly interested in behaving in the latest to get other people’s attention, like purchasing cool clothing (sweatshirts), new shoes, and snapbacks.

Some people say that a hype beast person usually uses other people’s belonging like their parents, siblings, etc. In contrast, others believe that a hype beast has a lot of cash, which helps them buy such luxuries.

The Eastern Bloc Head Style

The eastern bloc head style but robust kind of streetwear wearer is at the top edge of fashion.

They might have been born right after 1991, but they know well the cultural importance of designers’ articles of clothing like Russian wunderkind Mr. Gosha Rubchinskiy; as a sign of success, they can pronounce his surname correctly the very first try.

Fun Dads Style

When the nephew of the Fun Dad explained the concept to the kids, their fashion meant dark clothing. In the name of fashion, the fun dad style makes a person feel more like a man while having some serious compliments on their style. In a culture of streetwear tribe from hype beast to fun dads, the Fun Dads are very easy to find out.

Moreover, you can simply find them at the school gates, where he will be fully covered in Oliver Spencer. Or possibly on Sunday in the park, where, right after a hard net session with the kids, Fun Dad will eventually decide that he won’t actually change, that he will use his Champion sweatshirt for his shandy in the bar.

 It seems to aim to put it on with a 90% sensible clothing ratio and 10% sporty. But they will not ever call it sporty.

The Rich-Teens Concept

The rich Instagrammers originated fashion. When the rich teen has come into the hype, the rich boys started to adopt streetwear fashion to show it off on various social media platforms. Someone may get confused at this level between the hype beasts kids and rich teen kids; actually, they are both the same. Both are time-rich enough, though, and they both are invested in raising their statuses.

But there are a few variations that separate them. For example, Rich Teens are comfortable spending a lot of money on items they may not wear. Rich Teens reached berserk when Louis Vuitton merged with Supreme because their parents had approved to do so.

Rich Teens are the ones who like to get the thing first. Rich Teens are also known as “procurers” because they operate their fashion policy with a one-time wearer due to the higher collection quantity.

The Ladverts

Lads only use sportswear, that’s why we know them by the name of ladvert. The ladverts will never call such clothes streetwear because they don’t belong to this category. Except for many young boys, mostly students, they are cutting their style.

Summary

Every streetwear brand’s worth has derived from a range of resources, like product quality, design, celebrity followings, and artists. But, arguably, no factor seems to be as crucial as the authenticity of the customers purchasing the products. In a recent study, 76% of respondents believed that streetwear would grow majorly over the next five years.

Adopting the right fashion with style, at its best, shows the reflection of someone’s truest self. Even the uniquely made items come before the audience in various fashion groups, or what we like to call “style tribes.”

We have broken down the latest dominating trends in streetwear. The game of fashion style of streetwear tribes is here; what you have to know about all of them and how to gather and style them depends on your choice.

10 Awesome Popular Culture References in Streetwear [part 2]

It’s no secret that streetwear fashion is all about reappropriation. The best streetwear trends to have ever landed on t-shirts, hoodies, and hats come from outside this industry. Many of the top streetwear brands borrow designs from other industries and launch them as their own after flipping them.

Interestingly, the streetwear industry will become a hollow shell if we take all its designs that are influenced by popular culture. From BRKNHOME’s American Pie to MILKCRATE’s New World Order, all products and brands draw inspiration from pop culture. Let’s talk about more pop culture references in streetwear.

1.    Mad People in New York are Hustlers by MIGHTY HEALTHY

Brknhome is a leading online company owned by Joshua Pong, and Kenta Goto, that creates men’s streetwear fashion This cool T-shirt, which embodies a goofy state of being, is the first item on our list. The roots and inspiration of these t-shirts came from a comedy and reality-based movie, “Hustlers,” in which Jennifer Lopez performed the main character as a stripper who allures men, drug them and cash out their credit cards.

As the logo titles explain the hustle and bustle of the people living in New York with a lighthearted touch, people wear it as their identity and association, and they think it makes them look cool.

2.   Dipset/Ramones T-Shirt by REASON

Now comes another band of t-shirts featuring a black theme knitted on quality cotton. These were introduced by the Ramones, who were a punk rock band in America in the ’70s. Artura Vega was the creative designer of the Ramones iconic logos.

Even the band members have died, their names are still alive as logos on diplomat t-shirts. People consider wearing it as a badge of honor. The logo designs are a public domain with no copyright; therefore, many brands launch their t-shirts and attract buyers.

3.    ‘K’ Sweats and T-Shirts by KINGPIN Scarface

Originally inspired by Scarface (1983), this casual wear had become a trend in the 90s.

KINGPIN has expertly created this captivating theme up on the front with dark color prevailing all the way to the edge, bringing about a promising look. The shirts are also known for the famous Alejandro “Alex” Sosa, a fictional character and the main antagonist in the 2006 video game Scarface.

In “The World Is Yours,” he is a Bolivian drug dealer and the chief supplier of cocaine. Further, Tony Montana, the Cuban Kinpin is also the 17th playable character in PAYDAY 2. In addition, this shirt brings up that classic movie era inspiring streetwear.

4.    Original Logo by ANYTHING

Here’s another important cultural reference keeping streetwear alive to this date is the “I Love New York” logo. It was originally created by graphic designer Milton Glaser and was first used in 1977 to promote the city and state when NY was facing a social and economic crisis.

Madison Avenue advertising firm Wells Rich Greene was appointed to advertise The Big Apple and to promote tourism with a song, logo, and a slogan, “I Love New York.” This clothing can provide you with decent value in your streetwear clothing reference and is memorable for New Yorkers.

5.    Snapbacks by HUNDREDS

Are you longing to find a super cool streetwear cap with a famous culture reference? Well, this hat from Hundreds is your go-to option with the signature expression “snapback.”

This flat-brimmed hat has its roots in the early days of baseball when the first baseball teams wore straw hats in 1858, and these are now a part of baseball uniforms today.

 Later in the ’90s, snapback gained popularity among hip hop artists like Tupac and Ice Cube and evolved as hot streetwear.

6.    Supreme Team Sweatshirt by SUPREME

Here’s a great sweatshirt that is inspired by the style wars back in 1984. Supreme was launched in 1994 by James Jebbia. Talking about the logo inspiration, she said that the red box logo with “Supreme” in white Futura Heavy Oblique was taken from the work of Barbara Kruger.

And the shirts striking with an old fashion nostalgia are very favorite among masses: supreme targets skateboarding and hip hop cultures and youth in general.

7.    SSUR Inspired by Star Wars

Moving on to another star wars inspired streetwear back from the famous culture reference in 1977. Ruslan Karablin in New York founded the SSUR clothing brand. It is the epitome of luxury streetwear based on Russian artistic heritage.

A variety of products, including hoodies, sweatshirts, T-shirts, socks, accessories, snapback hats etc., are famous with “COMME des FUCKDOWN” and “COCO MADE ME DO IT” logos.

Also, the brand shirts refer to Henry Chalfont’s elemental Star Wars and its theme that went up at that time.

8.    SSUR Means T-shirt

This fabulous streetwear had taken its inspiration from the mean streets poster art back in 1973. The shirt design represents the glory of 70s cinema, which holds significant importance for cultural references.

You will notice a clear message mentioning something about New York streets and how it’s shown as an enduring conveyance. In addition, the gun violation theme is a part of the primary design element as well.

So, most streetwear fans love the aesthetics of this shirt holding a classic solid reference

9.    Chinatown Gun Shop T-Shirt by STAPLE

The oldest Gun shop in the USA by John Jovino has inspired this casual wear since 1911. The Staple shirt actually pays tribute to the Beretta poster outside.

And the Guns on tees are an embarrassment that peaked in the faux-thugging on cotton stakes around 2008. The work has been presented in the Chinatown font and theme.

The overall design and vibe bring about the perfection of classic presentation while empowering better styling functionality.

10.     FUCT Lips by Stones

Let’s take a glimpse at a very pivotal culture reference put up in the form of a logo by the craft of John Pasche. FUCT (Friends U Can’t Trust) was founded in Los Angeles in 1990 by Erik Brunetti and skateboarder Natas Kaupas.

According to Brunetti, the name “FUCT” was a homophone of the “fucked” and made people curious about its pronunciation.

 It is also inspired by 80s music. FUCT has been a pioneering streetwear brand and iconic logos of pop culture, anti-government and anti-religious campaigns.

Fashion is Dead, Long Live MerchTainment 

Fashion has long been struggling with an existential crisis. However, the challenges it faced in recent times are harder than ever before. The technological advancements, rapid transformations in ICT, and the rise of mercantilism are knocking fashion down.

This can be observed at any fashion show happening around you. Instead of creative designs being showcased nicely, you will see a red carpet camp glowing like a 4k resolution screen, as in the Met Gala, and many other shows. Moreover, participants and guests will be seen encircled by a gang of paparazzis, DSLR-toting cameramen, as well as a crowd of curious people filming the moments with their smartphones.  

The flight of creativity from the fashion industry has not gone unnoticed but has become a point of debate and discussion among fashion critics. You can say that fashion is dead yet the debate around its death is still alive, with many arguing that it did not die but transformed, while others say it’s still breathing. Let’s indulge in this debate to prove with strong arguments that fashion is finally no more with us. 

Fashion and Entertainment

Verily, the fashion industry and entertainment are driving forces for each other. It is not wrong to claim that their semi-symbiotic relationship is centuries old. The entertainment industry prefers designer and latest brand collections to give a glamorous appearance to celebrities and, in turn, promotes the latest fashion among the masses.

You see, musicians are not just performers anymore, and actors are not only bound to creativity in their roles; all have become the epitome of fashion by launching their own brands. 

When these celebrities or better be said characters appear on the stage, the fashion show simply becomes a reality show, or a school graduation ceremony. This is because of the screens installed at the camp, and the welcoming and cheering of the crowd at the time when such characters appear on the screen. They are shown to the crowd on the screen until they enter the building and settle on their seats. 

This routine has brought us to the stage where the fashion industry has lost its credibility over time and has evolved as something we have never imagined it to be. Thom Bettridge has coined a term, “MerchTainment” that better describes this thing that has replaced fashion.  

“MerchTainment is Kim Kardashian wearing Balenciaga bondage gear to her ex-husband’s Balenciaga-styled listening event, and spinning that same outfit into an undisputed win at the Met Gala red carpet. The Met Gala itself might be MerchTainment’s patient zero,” he writes in his article. 

Welcome to the MerchTainment World

Let’s dive into the world of merchTainment, or you can say fashion world, but from a different perspective this time. In 2012, Virgil Abloh, a musician and DJ, launched Pyrex vision, a hip-hop style streetwear brand. Isn’t it amazing that a DJ popped out as a designer from nowhere but with the dead stock of shirts and became famous?

He also became artistic director of Louis Vuitton’s in 2018. Similarly, the famous Merchbar is a partner with singers, songwriters, and musicians and sells hot pop Merch like Harry Styles Merch, authentic Britney Spears Merch, and Michael Jackson vinyl records.

Moreover, we also have a long list of best-selling band merch of 2020, including Sex Pistols 1977 Tee, Bob Dylan Rolling Stone Tee, The Prodigy We Live Forever T-Shirt, and Lewis Capaldi America’s Sweetheart T-Shirt, and so on.

Maybe this is why Thom mentioned, “MerchTainment might be actually anything affiliated with Kanye West, Olympian God of both the music and Merch industries”.

What to Blame? 

Looking into how far it is justified to claim “fashion is dead” gives an understanding that internal and external factors have hit the fashion industry. On the part of fashion designers, they have nothing valuable and acceptable to offer in the latest fashion trends.

They go either too casual or too traditional and often come up with ridiculous clothing styles. Further, you would have also noticed that the increased global usage of social media contributed to fashion magazines’ downfall.

And many of you would agree that celebrity brands do not serve justice both in pricing and quality. Recently, the pandemic has also proven to be a stepping stone in the way for designers to hold fashion shows and even resulted in the reduction of the swelling ratio by 57%.

Changing Trend from Fashion Magazines to Social Media

Today, we just recall the times we used to wait for the fashion magazines to launch the latest fashion designs and trends. Roughly around six months was required for the manufacturing, model shoots, and then magazines to finally launch. Masses no more follow trends in magazines like Vogue and Harpers Bazaar. Now the brand promotion trends have shifted to online websites and social media. As Bettridge wrote, “MerchTainment is the brand Instagram you actually like”?

In fact, social media marketing is what is happening now globally. This can be seen in branded Simpson’s episodes, and Kanye West’s “The Life of Pablo,”’ and “Kids See Ghosts.”

Nowadays, stores have no new arrivals to surprise the visitors and shoppers. They already put everything on Instagram and the shoppers visit the store to get this item after being in a relationship with this product for over months. 

Fashion Weeks Showcasing Weird Garments

Have you ever wondered who gets inspired by those weird unwearable garments at fashion weeks? Fashion weeks speaks in volume that designers have no more original ideas and nothing creative to introduce in clothing styles.

Fashion weeks in London, Milan, Paris, and New York are criticized for having unrealistic approaches in the latest designs.

Plus, the clothing showcased on fashion runways is no more appealing and has zero relevance to consumer demand. It hits too hard when runways showcase the costumes of superficial film characters and sometimes get too traditional.

Celebrities took over the Fashion Industry

How many of us blindly follow the fashion trends set by our favorite celebrities? Celebrities are fashion icons for the masses, and they have a bigger influence on consumer choice and demand. Celebrities are not confined to their creative roles in media but also stepped up in the fashion industry as designers.

Although their brand products are very expensive and are of no lavish quality, their demand is high. Jessica Simpson’s eponymous line had revenue of $1 billion in 2015. 

Rihanna’s lingerie line Savage x Fenty, Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen’s dual-threat fashion lines, The Row and Elizabeth and James, and Reese Witherspoon’s Draper James are all successful brands. It’s because celebrities have all the power over the designers, owners, promoters, and influencers of fashion, and this is indeed a clear picture of merchTainment.   

Final Words

In a nutshell, fashion remerchandise has merged with entertainment to a greater extent. Both the industries seem difficult to evolve as separate entities as they both share perks and privileges of their interconnected relationship.

But unfortunately, fashion has lost its actual sense and is rapidly changing, creating fuss and confusion among followers. It has died a slow death, as the merchTainment is not a new thing; it was in the process for a long time ago, and now is the time to fully accept and label fashion with it. 

What Did Virgil Mean When He Said “Streetwear Is Dead?”

Fashion trends emerge out of the blue from unpredictable circumstances and inspirations. Similarly, Streetwear won popularity as soon as it was emerged out of hip hop scenes in New York City in the ’90s. But how surprising it is that the founder of PYREX and streetwear fashion influencer altered his opinion and claimed: “streetwear is dead.”

Virgil Abloh is a fashion icon and a creative director of Louis Vuitton’s menswear collection, who made this statement in an interview with Dazen Magazine. We are curious about this insight, especially the hypebeasts. Now let’s dive into the details.

Launching of Virgil’s Pyrex and Off-White

A brand is like a real-time identity to your business or company. Some brands have millions of followers worldwide,

Virgil has been a passionate kid, and his enthusiasm for art, design, and culture made him a pioneer in fashion designing. His first brand Pyrex Vision suddenly became popular out of nowhere in 2012.

He purchased a deadstock of Lauren flannel shirts at cheap cost, printed them with the “pyrex” and “23” in honor of his childhood hero, Michael Jordan, and sold them for $550 each. It was a huge success for him and motivated him to become an artistic director.

As soon as the Pyrex shuttered in 2013, Virgil launched his luxury collection of men and women streetwear with the label Off-White.

Off-White Consumers and Products

Streetwear is mostly adored by the hype beasts and hip-hop music fans, even if they are not rich. They have a craze of buying streetwear products, including hoodies, sneakers, logo tees, ribbed socks, puffer jackets, sweat pants, hats, tracksuits, chain necklaces, sports jerseys, and loose trousers.

The followers of Streetwear are under 30 and consider it as a fashionable clothing style. Although the products are expensive, they are high in demand because of their catchy and different looks.

Virgil’s Explanation on “Streetwear Is Dead”?

Right after his interview publication, followers became upset with what did Virgil mean when he said “streetwear is dead”? From the reader’s point of view, it simply means the extinction of streetwear fashion. Imagine disappearing off the style and fashion you feel comfortable and look classy in?

The phrase “streetwear is dead” hit hard like anything, especially on all the streetwear lovers who spent a huge sum of money in stocking favorite items.

 It also sounds like a loss for the manufacturers of Streetwear who have been earning large profits.

“I would definitely say it’s going to die, you know? Like, its time will be up. In my mind, how many more t-shirts can we own, how many more hoodies, how many sneakers?” said Abloh in his interview to explain what he meant by Streetwear is going to die.

It was very surprising for the masses and media to digest this opinion by the creator of Streetwear himself. But soon, Virgil gave a clear insight on why he said, “Streetwear is dead.”

Unfortunately, the Off-white and Louis Vuitton designer became a target of backlash on social media after sharing his views regarding George Floyd’s killing. CEO of label Off-white captioned images of violent racism protests and looting of shops on his social media account.

Those captions clearly depicted what did Virgil mean when he said “Streetwear Is Dead”.

“Our own communities, our own shops … this shop was built with blood, sweat, and tears.”

“Streetwear is a community. It’s groups of friends that have a common bond. We hang out on street corners, fight with each other, fight for each other”. But this time, considering it as a community, not a consumer product.

From Embracing Streetwear to “Streetwear is Dead”

“I am all about championing this new era of designers becoming the new rock stars,” shared Virgil Abloh in his blog post while talking about his passion for the Off white brand. He designed his collection of clothes with community-related logos indicating unity, harmony, and peace. Little did we know the end of the decade would be the total alteration of this statement.

The fashion pioneer always had a passion for Streetwear as a community of art, design, and fashion with all the fellow beings. Abloh burst emotionally in the following words while expressing his grief over his notion “streetwear is dead.” “You see the passion, blood, sweat, and tears Sean puts in for our culture.

Moreover, this disgusts me. To the kids that ransacked his store and RSVP DTLA, and all our stores in our scene just know, that product staring at you in your home/apartment right now is tainted and a reminder of a person, I hope you aren’t. We’re a part of culture together.

Is this what you want?? When you walk past him in the future, please have the dignity not to look him in the eye, hang your head in shame….”

Is Off-White Still Popular?

Despite all the mess that happened in recent times, Abloh is still known for driving the “post-streetwear movement” and has earned the title of a pioneer in streetwear luxury fashion. He has millions of Instagram followers.

 Plus, no matter what, he is a role model and fashion icon for his followers. Off-White is planning to be top of the world as it announced in February to seek 1 billion euros in the next decade.

Streetwear is Alive

The youngsters are crazy consumers of streetwear, and they consider these clothes as a class and enhancer of their personalities.

Moreover, Streetwear brands like NIKE, Off-White, Gucci, Supreme NYC, Off-white, and Jordan have launched their 2021 collections. So Streetwear can never be dead as it is a community, passion, and enthusiasm, not just merchandise.

Final Words

Virgil is a passionate American fashion designer who reflects his brand products with love and compassion for the community. We know that he uttered the words “streetwear is dead” owing to crucial circumstances, but it is not actually true.

Actually, this statement was the sentimental outlook and insight of the fashion director of LWMH and GUCCI, as he loves his community and people unconditionally. Additionally, there are a number of streetwear products, and they are high in demand. Hence, Streetwear had a bigger impact on the fashion and luxury industry. To sum up, Streetwear is class, not a trend that is dead or alive.